Servant of Evil (RussiaxBelarus)
by Anime Alert
Summary: Russia is Belarus's older brother, but when the kingdom rebels, which one gets to leave? Human names. WARNING: Character death TIMES TWO!


While they weren't quite twins, Natalia felt as though she were Ivan's exact copy; thus, she did everything to keep him safe. She was his faithful servant, and to protect him, she would do anything…

"_O my King, you have me as your faithful servant alone,_

_We were kin torn apart, when our fates should have shone,_

_O my King, to shield thee from danger's deadly call,_

_I will sin, I will kill, I will sacrifice my all…"_

Natalia was standing faithfully at Ivan's side, who, while uncomfortable, could no longer run and hide from her as he could when they were but children. He was king now, seeing as their elder sister, Katyusha, had insisted that she would be a horrible queen.

"Big brother! Try the goose! I made it just for tonight!" Natalia's obsessive command, made in her obsessive voice that was always ever so slightly hoarse from yelling for her brother, was punctuated by her gripping his arm, scratching him slightly with her nails, rough from scratching doors and ripping out doorknobs.

"I can't try it if you don't let go, Natalia, and I was just about to. I know you only prepare goose for special occasions."

"_Several years ago, we were both born into this hell,_

_Praised and blessed by the people and the church's bell,"_

The church bell rang out loudly, signaling a new 'blessed' life.

"Wonder whose child it is; is it a maid, or no?" Natalia wondered aloud.

Ivan simply shrugged. "Probably another boring commoner anyways. I think it's a male, though."

Natalia looked thoughtful. "You're probably right; didn't Mrs. Héderváry's little girl come yesterday?"

"_Being in our family, we must play by the rules,_

_Even though we look so close, I am destined as your tool…"_

_Ivan was sobbing as he lurched towards the carriage that held his baby sister. "No!" He screamed, as their sister held him back, "Natalia!"_

"_Big brother!" Natalia screamed back, sobbing, as their carriage-master, Yao, threw her into the royal carriage so she could be trained in the many 'womanly' arts she would need to learn, "Big brother!"_

_Ivan watched, still sobbing, as the carriage drove off towards the town. His precious baby sister had been forced to turn around, facing away from him, by Yao, who accompanied her._

"_They can swear you their enemy, or curse all they want,_

_They can brandish their swords and be on the hunt._

_Never fear, never cry, I will always be near,_

_Let not your smile, my sun, turn into icy tears!"_

"_Today is a day of great mirth in our fair kingdom!" The aged king cried, "The fair young princess has returned!"_

_Ivan was waiting expectantly for the red, green, and white carriage that brought his sister to draw into the gates. "Natalia, please still be the dear little sister you always have been," Ivan murmured softly, "I would hate to lose you…"_

"_O my King, you have me as your faithful servant alone,_

_We were kin torn apart, when our fates should have shone,_

_O my King, to shield thee from danger's deadly call,_

_I will sin, I will kill, I will sacrifice my all."_

"Big brother! Time to wake up!"

Ivan groaned slightly at his little sister's regular wake-up call. "Five more minutes…" He muttered scratchily, rolling over slightly… and falling off the bed. "Gah!" He yelped, "I could have sworn I was sleeping on the left side…"

"You were," Natalia replied cheerfully, "but I moved you to the right before I woke you up. I knew you'd roll over and try to sleep again, you always do!"

"Thanks, sis," He muttered irritably, "but it's not- oh…" His eyes had flown open when he'd fallen, but he had failed to register that the sun was streaming bright, warm sunlight into his room.

It felt more like a death sentence than a sign of a sunny day.

"_While running errands in a peaceful town nearby,_

_I ran into a reckless man with shining ruby eyes,_

_Smiling with his face so fair, laughing with his voice so light,_

_I was captivated then, knowing love at first sight,"_

As Natalia walked steadily back towards the palace with her brother's new books underneath one arm, a strong gust of wind blew her hairbow off her head. "Oh!" She cried, running after it, "My bow!"

The bow was caught by a very pale man with shining red eyes. "The awesome me has caught your bow for you, little girl!" He cried as Natalia ran up to reclaim her bow.

Natalia was highly offended at his sentence. "The awesome you? Little girl?" She seethed, snatching her bow away, "Just who are you?!"

He blinked in surprise. "You don't know who the awesome me is?" He asked, seeming honestly surprised.

"If I knew, do you think I would be asking?" Natalia asked, rage building inside her habitually, "And I wouldn't guess you knew who I am?"

He smirked and said, "No, no I don't. I am the awesome Gilbert!"

Natalia snorted contemptuously, "Will you quit with the 'awesome me' stuff already?! I'm Natalia, and if I get too angry with you I will probably arrange for a little… accident to happen." She reveled mirthfully in his shocked and moderately terrified expression.

"Are you saying you'd kill this awesomeness?" Gilbert asked, sounding a touch sick.

"I never said that, you did. Anyways, have a nice day." Natalia waked off then, wondering to herself if she would really be able to keep that promise this time.

"_But this love will remain locked deep inside,_

_For the King gave orders, 'The man must die.'"_

"Ah, Natalia, there you are. I have a job for you."

The first thing Natalia heard when she stepped into her brother's room were two sentences that usually got her blood flowing faster than any normal human's should, but didn't this time. "What type of job, brother?" She asked, refusing to acknowledge the pit in her stomach that warned her that she already knew, and didn't like it.

Ivan grinned, and with that grin his face lit with sparking malice. "There's a man in town that must die. He's an albino; he's milk skin and ruby eyes. You should be able to distinguish him very easily."

Natalia's stomach and heart both sank; he wanted her to kill Gilbert. Could she even kill him? She had to. "Okay, brother. The man must die."

"_I will answer his wishes, his mind I will ease,_

_So why, my Lord, do my tears fail to cease?"_

Natalia was standing face-to-face with Gilbert, standing where she had when she'd met him.

"You wanted to meet here?" He asked quietly, "Ludwig was a real pain for the awesome me to get past – in relativity to everything else, of course!" He added the last bit hastily, as though he'd thought she would doubt his skills.

Natalia kept her head down, not quite wanting to look at him. "I'm sorry that it has to be like this…" she started, trying to give him the vibe that this was dangerous and that he needed to run.

"Huh? Like what?" He asked, seeming truly confused.

"Remember what I said earlier? That if I got angry enough, I'd arrange for an accident?" She asked, giving him as much time as she could for him to run, to escape.

"Yea… why?"

Natalia sighed; this guy was obviously quite slow. "My brother does the same; he was the one who taught me all I know about human pain and death."

Gilbert's eyes widened slightly as it all clicked – slowly. "Do you mean… he wants me dead?"

Natalia began to cry softly. "Yes, Gilbert. For some reason, he hates you."

"And you've come to warn me to leave?" He asked, not quite picking up on the significance of her tears yet.

She broke down in vast sobs. "No, Gil… he wants me to kill you."

His eyes widened and he began backing away slowly. "So… lemme get this straight. Your older brother, who I'm almost positive that I've never met, wants me dead and sent you to kill me."

Natalia looked up then, looking straight at his eyes, taking a step forward, touching his cheek softly. "Yes… but I don't want you to die! I want you to live! Gilbert… I love you. I really do."

He looked at her, taken completely off-guard. "You… love me?"

She nodded sadly. "Yes… and you said you're almost completely certain that you never met big brother?"

He tried to smile for her. "Yes. I'm sure, because I've never seen someone as beautiful as you."

Natalia blinked. "Really? You think I'm beautiful?"

"Yes," he replied sincerely, looking into her crystal blue eyes. "I thought so from the moment I saw you. The cockiness was just a cover for my feelings. I actually did know who you were…" He leaned close now, whispering into her ear, "Princess."

Natalia jumped a little, looking surprised. "How-?"

He hugged her close. "Today wasn't the first time I saw you. When we were simple children, Yao threw you in the royal carriage and carted you off to learn the 'womanly arts' here in town. I was the little boy next door; Ludwig was already far more mature than me at the time, older than you by a year. I still love playing pranks; remember the time I threw a chimney-sweep's brush at Yao, but missed and hit you?"

Natalia smiled, finally remembering that she knew this arrogant man. "I'd actually forgotten all about that! I knew I remembered you from somewhere, but I couldn't place it. But the one prank I remember most was when you 'accidentally' set Yao's kitchen on fire. How'd you do that, anyways?" She asked, genuinely curious.

He laughed. "That was my best prank ever! All I'd done was splash some cooking oil around, and then waited until morning when I knew that Yao would be up really soon, then I turned on the stove."

Natalia smiled softly as she said, "You waited so that, in case he was still asleep, he'd wake up easily and either way would run down to check it out and kill the fire. Brilliant! I'll have to remember that one." She noticed that it was almost midnight, and her heart broke. She really needed to kill him now, or she'd never be able to. "Hey, Gil?"

He grinned softly. "Yes, precious?"

"Do you love me as I love you?"

He blinked, about to ask if she was joking, but saw how serious she looked. "Yes. I love you. I find you to be like a rose; more beautiful than any other in this garden of daisies, but almost impossible to touch unless you're either very skilled or very, very lucky."

She looked at him, and asked softly, "Can you smile for me? A genuine, loving kinda smile, not a smirk."

He smiled, and her whole world was spinning. His smile was so beautiful that it had her reeling.

Natalia returned the smile, and sincerely meant it when she said, "You're a rose too, Gil; I'm glad I got to find that out." She moved closer and swiftly stabbed him, not so deep as to kill him instantly, but deep enough so she only had time to catch him in a hug as he fell and murmur into his ear one sentence.

"I love you, Gilbert, my sweet white rose."

But she was sobbing so hard, she wasn't sure he even understood, until he said,

"I love you too, Natalia… my eternal rose garden…"

He died before she even got the chance to ask what he meant by 'his eternal rose garden'.

"_O my King, you have me as your faithful servant alone,_

_We are kin, like two seeds in the soils of madness sown,_

"_O my King, your dessert for today is Brioche,"_

_And you smiled, and you smiled, innocent without a flaw."_

Natalia walked back in through the palace gates which were the entrance to the palace where she lived with her brother; Katyusha had moved out long ago to be a common farmer. In the past, the gates had always seemed to be a means of protecting her and her family, but now they were a way of keeping the evil inside the walls.

She walked into her rooms to change into another of her comfortable blue dresses; it was unseemly to walk around coated in the blood of someone you just finished killing, particularly if you loved him (or her).

Once she finished, she went to the kitchens to get a bowl of fruit salad, one of the desserts her brother loved, and a shot of chocolate vodka for him to drink with it, then thought better of it and decided to simply bring him brioche.

She walked out to the gardens, balancing the baked treat carefully in one hand, and served it to her brother with a flourish.

"Ah, thank you Natalia. How was the hunting last night?" Ivan asked, starting in on his dessert.

Natalia shrugged. "Actually, it was more challenging than normal; I had to drag him all the way to the square. His brother tried to stop me."

Ivan looked up. "A challenge? You did kill the albino, right?"

"Yes, brother," Natalia sighed, "I can show you the dress."

Ivan laughed. "He was wearing a dress?"

Natalia's eye twitched. "No, he fell on me when I stabbed him."

Ivan smiled, looking fully innocent. "At least he died."

"_People of the country were possessed with fear and rage,_

_Threatening to kill the King, to move on to a new age._

_If this is what they call a retribution for his sins,_

_God's words I will go against, for the life of my kin."_

"Natalia! Ivan!" Katyusha screamed, running towards the siblings, her chest bouncing.

Natalia looked up. "Kat? Have you come to steal big brother's affections?"

Kat stopped, panting slightly. "No! The citizens – they're declaring war on us!"

"Us?" Ivan echoed, "But you left the family…"

"It doesn't matter to them! Quickly, we all must run!"

"Run where?" Natalia asked, "The citizens will be everywhere!"

""_Here are my spare clothes, now wear these and run,_

_Don't turn back, don't stop, don't talk to anyone._

_Don't you worry; we look so close in any way;_

_Only I will ever notice that you got away!""_

Ivan stood by a window, gazing out at the masses pounding at the gates, when Natalia walked up and placed a wig on his head. He turned halfway, only to be pulled into a rough hug.

"Big brother, here's a spare dress of mine that will fit you. Put it on and give me your clothes."

Ivan blinked. "Huh?"

Natalia sighed softly. "I want you to put on my spare clothes and run. You can't stop, can't turn back, and certainly can't speak with anyone."

Ivan pulled away slightly and looked at her, shocked. "You want me to disguise myself and leave?"

"Make sure you give me your day's clothing. Oh, don't worry; if I cut my hair and pull it under a wig, wear some stilts and your clothes, and disguise my voice, the only way to tell the difference between the two of us will be our eyes. Only I shall ever know that you got away."

Ivan hesitated for but an instant, then nodded, took the dress, and changed behind a nearby partition. When he came out, he held his day's clothing in his hand. "I'm too tall to pass as you, Nat," he warned.

Natalia grinned. "That's good, because if we were the same height you would surely be discovered. No, you're posing as a thirty-five-year-old woman instead of a nineteen-year-old girl." She took the clothes and changed into them, making sure to put her stilts on securely.

She found some scissors and cut her hair to about the length of her brother's hair, putting it under the wig for caution, and exited the impromptu changing room. "Natasha, go," she commanded, pulling her 'sister' into a big hug, "and remember to duck your head."

"Natasha?" Ivan asked, looking around, "Who's Natasha?"

"You, sister. You'll have to get used to responding to the name Natasha Arlovskaya for the rest of your life. You're a woman now, remember?"

'Natasha' blinked. "Okay… where's the name from?"

'Ivan' smiled. "Some commoners call me Natasha when they've not met me yet, and Arlovskaya is the last name our mother used to carry before she married our father. Now go, but give me a hug first."

Natasha took a step forward and hugged her 'brother'. "I'll miss you."

Ivan smiled 'his' trademark childish smile, hugging his 'sister' back. "I'll miss you too, now go!" He cast his sister away and walked slowly for the doors as Natasha ran off towards the secret tunnel that led out the back wall.

"_O now I am the King, and you the escapee,_

_We are kin, like two boats in the stormy sad seas._

_They say you are a ruler of vice and disdain,_

_Then I am evil as well, with the same blood in my veins."_

Elizabeta Héderváry ran in, pointing a horribly large sword directly at Ivan. "You are a ruler of vice and disdain! We are here to depose you!" The entire crowd of civilians heartily agreed, yelling angrily at Ivan.

Ivan simply smiled.

"_Once upon a time, in a country far away,_

_Where a lot of crimes were committed every day,_

_My lovely older brother who neared thirty years of age_

_Was crowned as the King, dancing on history's stage,"_

Ivan was waiting through the night in a dingy prison cell in the center of town. _Brother, I wish you were here,_ he thought wistfully, _so we wouldn't both be alone and pretending to be what we're not._

Natasha, who was an entire town away, was also wishing for her brother. _Sister, _she thought, suddenly panicking, _I'm coming back! I have to see you!_

Softly, carried by the night breeze, a single off-white petal fluttered through the barred window of Ivan's new room. It was the very same shade of Natasha's hair; her real hair, from before she became Natasha. Ivan let a single tear slip down his face, only for it to drip onto the petal.

(Interjection: The following lines were sung simultaneously, a word which here means "Natasha and Ivan were singing at the same time." Because of that, the regular italicized lines will still belong to Ivan (who is really Natalia), while the lines that are italicized and bolded will be sung by Natasha (who is really Ivan).)

_They can swear you their enemy, and curse all they want;_

_**Finally, long awaited, the time has come,**_

_They can brandish their swords and be on the hunt._

_**The deafening chimes sounded a little bit glum.**_

_Never fear, never cry, I will always be near,_

_**The crowd showed not a sign of sympathy,**_

_Let not your smile, my sun, turn into icy tears!_

_**Grinning to the world, you spoke my line on your knees!**_

In the morning, Ivan stood in front of the chopping block, ready to lose his head to save his sister's.

Natasha, however, was still trying to get to the square in time. _I'll not make it!_ She cried in her head as she saw her lovely brother standing proudly in front of the block, his hair whipping in the wind.

Ivan was forced down, just as Natasha ran into the square, weaving her way carefully, yet still quickly, to the front to stand before him. She was panting softly, but recovered quickly and smiled at him.

Her lovely smile was the last thing he saw, for he closed his eyes and shared in the smile just as the massive blade came down on him, provoking cheers throughout the crowd.

Natasha managed to keep her smile for only a second before a tear slipped from her eye and it curled into a sad frown, quickly becoming sadder and frownier.

"_O my King, you have me as your faithful servant alone,_

_We were kin torn apart, when our fates should have shone,_

_Somehow in our next life, if we ever meet again,_

_Let us play together once more,_

_And be the best of friends…_


End file.
